Method of rating and recording cutting operations



Aug. 29, 1939- A. MQMASTER 2,170,826 METHOD OF RATING AND REGORDING CUTTING OPERATIONS Filed NOV. 13, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 29, 1939. A. M MASTER 2,170,326

METHOD OF RATING AND RECORDING CUTTING OPERATIONS Filed Nov. 13, 1936 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Egrl).

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863 6: 6A gfis Patented Aug. 29, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE METHOD 6F EATING AND RECORDING CUTTING OPERATIONS Application November 13, 1936, Serial No. 110,721

2 Claims.

This invention relates to methods of rating and recording cutting operations performed upon sheet material and is herein illustrated in connection with a method for rating and recording cutting operations performed in producing shoe parts from hides or skins.

A method of charting hides or skins which has come into extensive use is that disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,953,684, granted April 3, 1934, upon an application filed in my name. As disclosed therein a skin is cut into blanks, for example, shoe part blanks, and the remaining scrap is assembled upon a paper backing. The assembly obtained constitutes means by the aid of which the efiectiveness of the operator in cutting the skin can be studied to determine whether the cuts were made in such manner as to be economical of material and at the same time to have in each cut piece material of the quality required for that particular piece.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of rating the effectiveness of cutting operations upon skins in forming shoe parts which will make it possible readily to determine whether a given shoe part has been properly out without the necessity for reassembling the skin. To this end, and, as illustrated I contemplate providing a chart having marked thereon indica relative to the natural characteristics of skins and having also marked thereon symbols indicating the quality of a given portion of the skin and its location relatively to the backbone of the skin, marking a face of a skin to be cut with symbols corresponding to those marked upon the chart and similarly arranged, cutting the skin into a plurality of pieces to form shoe part blanks, applying various of the cut pieces to the chart by the aid of the symbols to locate them in the same relative positions that they occupied in the original skin and to determine the effectiveness of the cutting operations performed upon the pieces by means of the indicia upon the chart. Preferably and as shown, I make a permanent record of improperly cut pieces by successively locating them upon a transparent sheet of paper placed upon the chart and marking their outlines upon the paper.

By the use of the method above outlined it is possible readily toascertain. the effectiveness with which a given operator has performed cutting operations upon a single skin or upon a plurality of skins, and the permanent record obtained can be used to illustrate to the operator the defects in his system of cutting resulting in greatly increased efliciency both as to the number and as to quality of cut pieces.

The invention, in various of its aspects, is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, described in detail in the following specification, and set forth in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 illustrates a chart constructed in accordance with my invention and showing a preferred manner of cutting shoe part blanks from a skin;

Fig. 2 illustrates a chart for rating the effectiveness of cutting operations performed in producing Vamps and tips;

Fig. 3 illustrates a chart for rating the effectiveness of cutting operations performed in producing quarters;

Fig. 4 is a portion of the chart shown in Fig. 3 illustrating the manner in which a cut piece can be located thereon; and

Fig. 5 illustrates a chart which constitutes a permanent record of the manner in which certain shoe part blanks were cut from a skin.

In carrying out my method I provide a chart illustrating the manner in which a skin should be cut to contain the best quality of shoe part blanks with a minimum of waste. I also provide rating charts which are marked with symbols in a predetermined relation, and I mark each skin to be cut with similar symbols similarly arranged so that after a skin has been cut the cut pieces can be assembled upon one or another of the rating charts by means of the symbols so that, by the use of other indicia upon the charts, the effectiveness of the cutting operation upon the material can be determined.

The chart shown in Fig. 1 represents a typical skin to be cut intoshoe parts of specific sizes and shapes, the chart being a lay of patterns for cutting, from a skin, six pairs each of Vamps, quarters, and tips in such manner as to insure that the quality of leather in the cut pieces is the best obtainable from the skin considering the fact that the best portion of the skin should be used for Vamps, the next best for tips, and the next for quarters, the remaining area of the skin providing for some deviation, during the cutting operation, in the charted position of the patterns to avoid imperfections in the leather and to provide material for smaller parts such as tongues, and stays, which do not generally require a high quality of leather as compared with the other parts mentioned. The chart bears a line H! which represents the outline of a skin and is provided with vertical lines l2 and M and horizontal lines it and I8 which roughly divide the skin into sections which are numbered from one to nine. Sections I and 2 represent hind leg portions; 3 and 4, foreleg portions; 5 the head; 6 the butt; I and 8, rib or flank sections; and 9, the central section of the skin. The best leather is found in sections 5 and 9 which are best suited for vamp and tip stock, the lower portion of section 5 is suitable for tip stock, and the other portions of the skin provide material for quarters which should be out as near to sections 6 and 9 as is possible after the requisite number of Vamps and tips have been cut therefrom.

My improved method is based upon the fact that skins of approximately the same kind, size and tannage have certain natural characteristics which are fairly uniform and which depend upon the structure of the hide of the animal from which the skin was obtained and habits of that animal. Some of these characteristics include the stretch of the skin, location of the backbone, pockets, grazing lines and tail lines, all of which must be taken into consideration in cutting shoe parts from the skin, particularly with regard to the position the given part is to occupy in the shoe and the quality of leather required for that part. For example, the material of the skin at the backbone portion is soft and spongy. If a tip were cut from the skin across the backbone it is almost certain that, when the tip has been positioned in the shoe and worn for a short time, cracks would develop across the tip along what was once the backbone line. This illustrates the necessity for the exercise of care in making the cuts in a skin.

In Order to make it possible readily to ascertain whether pieces cut from a skin have been properly cut, I provide charts which bear the outline of a skin and other indicia which make it possible to ascertain whether the pattern, or die, for a given out piece has been properly placed. To this end, I have provided two rating charts (Figs. 2 and 3) by the aid of which pieces cut from a skin can be located in the original positions which they occupied in the skin and the efiectiveness of the cutting operations determined.

The chart shown in Fig. 2, which is for use in rating Vamps and tips, bears a skin outline 20, vertical lines 22 and 24, and horizontal lines 26 and 28 which divide the skin into nine numbered sections corresponding to those shown in Fig. 1. There is also a central vertical line 30 which indicates the backbone portion of the skin. The chart has upon it spaced rows 32 and 34 of symbols which extend perpendicular to the backbone line 30. The rows 32 contain symbols 36 each of which is composed of three elements, a large number which corresponds to one of the sections l to 9 in which the particular symbol is located and serves to identify that section; a letter which indicates the quality of leather at the point where the symbol is located; and a small number which indicates the row heightwise from either the line 26 or the line 28. The rows 34 which alternate with the rows 32 are composed of geometrical symbols, distinctive for each section, and which serve quickly to identify the individual sections. It is to be noted that the letter A designates the best quality of leather which is to be found along the backbone principally in sections 6 and 9. Subsequent letters of the alphabet indicate leather of decreasing quality.

As part of my improved method, I mark each skin to be cut with symbols similar to those indicated upon the chart shown in Fig. 2 and similarly spaced. Consequently when a skin is out, the cut pieces can be assembled upon the chart by means of the symbols. This is best illustrated in Fig. 4 which illustrates a portion of the chart having a skin outline at 26 and the various rows of symbols marked thereon. At the lower portion of the figure is shown, a quarter 38 cut from a skin which was marked with symbols corresponding to those on the chart. It will be seen that this cut piece can be readily placed upon the chart in the same relative position which it originally occupied in the skin by means of the identifying symbols 31D and sin and the two geometrical symbols 3% which result in placing the cut piece in the position indicated by dotted line 49.

The chart illustrated in Fig. 2 is further provided with an irregular line 42 extending roughly parallel to the outline of the skin and enclosing the central area thereof. This line indicates the boundary of that portion of, the skin which I have found to be suitable for vamp and tip stock and is approximately 43% of the area of the skin outlined as shown. Line 44 parallel to line 62 and positioned outwardly thereof indicates the limit within which it is preferable to complete the vamp and tip cuts in order to obtain best quality. The space between the two lines 42 and it indicates a doubtful area, that is, if the centrai portion of a cut is positioned between those two lines it is quite likely that the material of the outer portion of the out which may project outwardly of the line 42 will not be of desired quality. There is a third line 46 parallel to the line 2 and outwardly thereof which is intended to indicate that that portion of the leather outside thereof is poor for Vamps and tips. The area between the upper portion of the line 62 and a line 43 is suitable for tip stock but not for Vamps. By the aid of these lines it should be apparent that when out pieces are applied to the chart in their proper locations it can readily be ascertained whether the piece was out from material of suitable quality or whether the piece was cut out of its proper section considering the quality of leather necessary for the particular shoe part which it is to form.

The chart is likewise provided with series of intersecting parallel lines 5!! and 5| in sections 5, 2, and 6, which make angles with each other of about 40 degrees. The chart bears similar series of lines 52 and 5c in sections 3, 4, 5, i, 8 and s which intersect at an angle of about 50 degrees. These lines extend generally in the direction of the stretch lines of the skin and are intended to indicate the range within which the axis of a pattern may be swung in placing it upon a skin without having the stretch of the material extending in the wrong direction in the cut piece. It is to be noted that the stretch lines vary in the diiierent sections of a skin and consequently the angles between series of lines in different portions of the chart are correspondingly varied. For example, the allowed angle of swing, that is, the angle between the two series of parallel lines, is less in the butt and hind leg portions of the hide than in the central, head and foreleg portions. The chart is also marked with a broken line 56 which is intended to indicate the tail portion of the skin which is soft and spongy and is not suitable for Vamps, or at least the toe portions thereof.

In order to illustrate the mannerin which pieces cut from the skin can be graded or rated by the use of the chart shown in Fig. 2, I have marked thereon outlines of various cut pieces which were improperly cut from a skin in the same relative positions that the outlines indicate on the chart. For example, the vamp indicated by reference character 58 is what may be designated a line cut, that is, the toe portion thereof was cut in the area of doubtful quality as far as vamp stock is concerned between the lines 42 and M. The vamp 60 was cutout of section, that is, the principal part of the vamp was cut outside of the line 44 or, in other words, the greater portion of the vamp is not in the stock'best suited for vamp material. Vamp 62 is what might be designated as a reverse cut. That is, the toe portion of the cut, which should contain the best possible stock as compared to the stock in the wings of the vamp, was cut in a direction away from the backbone of the skin. Vamp 64 was cut across the backbone of the skin with the result that the toe portion thereof is likely tocrack along the backbone after the vamp is assembled in the shoe. Vamp 66 was cut at an improper angle to the backbone with respect to stretch, as indicated by the diagonal lines 52 and 54 with the result that the vamp, when lasted, will stretch in the wrong direction with the tendency to put wrinkles therein. Vamp E8 was cut with the outside wing thereof too near the edge of the skin, that is, in poor leather. This is improper for the reason that the outside wing of the vamp as compared with the inside wing should be cut from the better leather which is nearer the backbone and inward from the skin edge. Vamp I!) has been out correctly except that the toe portion thereof enters the tail line area with the result that a corner of the most important portion of the vamp will be of spongy material. Similarly, in connection with the cutting of the tips, tip 12 was cut across the backbone, tip M was cut at an improper angle and tip it was cut with the greater portion thereof outside of the section of suitable material for tips.

I have provided a somewhat similar chart, shown in Fig. 3, for the rating of quarters. This chart is divided with rows of symbols similar to those marked on the chart (Fig. 2) and upon the skins to be operated upon. The chart is also marked with a skin outline 18, a line 88 indicating roughly the area within which is located material suitable for cutting Vamps and tips and with intersecting lines 82 and 84 in sections 3, 4i and 5 for indicating the angular tolerance permitted in locating patterns in those sections. Similar sets of lines 86 and 88, and 98 and 22 appear in sections 1, 8 and 9 and sections l, 2 and 6, respectively. Less angular tolerance is allowed in the placing of quarter patterns than for Vamps and tops, for the reason that the quarters are cut from the outer portions of the skin where the greatest variation in stretch occurs. It is to be noted in connection with these various lines that the stretch in a skin, for example, in section 5, is approximately at right angles to the lines 82 and that in cutting quarters it is desirable that the axis of the quarter from toe to heel should be placed along these lines in order that there will be in the completed cut piece a minimum stretch in the toe to heel direction. This is important in the lasting of a quarter of a shoe in order that the gage points longitudinally of the shoe will not vary. In section 5, particularly, it is to be noted that the lines 82 extend approximately parallel to a portion of the skin which is known as the grazing line and which is, in effect, a Wrinkle or sometimes two or three Wrinkles, caused by the swinging of the head of the animal from side to side. This grazing line is of heavy coarse grain and. should not pass transversely through a quarter.

I have indicated on the chart pockets Q4 and 96 adjacent the foreleg portions of the skin, and pockets 9B and I00 near the hind leg portionsof the skin, which are of light coarse grain and which should not be included in the top edge portions of quarters for the reason that when such material is present inthe location indicated the quarter is likely to wrinkle during the stitching operation. The inclined lines I92 appearing on the chart adjacent to these pockets are for the purpose of indicating that the quarter blank should be shifted in its position the nearer it is cut to the pocket to assume as near as possible a perpendicular relation to the backbone of the skin. This is because of a great variation in the stretch of the skin as the pocket is approached from the rib section.

I have illustrated in Fig. 3 the method by which quarters cut from a skin can be rated by means of the outlines indicated upon the chart. The quarter designated by reference character 104 is an outside quarter which should not be cut in poor leather. That is, if it was necessary to cut a quarter in this position it should have been an inside quarter which does not require as good material as an outside quarter. The quarter I06 is cut across the backbone. The quarter I08 should have been cut with its lasting edge, that is, the least important edge portion, next to the skin edge. Quarter I I!) should have been cut with its lasting edge toward the pocket 96. The same is true of the quarter 2. The quarter H4 is a reverse cut, that is, the most important toe portion thereof is nearer the skin edge whereas it should be directed to the backbone into the section of better leather. The quarter H6 was cut out of section. That is, it was cut in the area from which the higher quality and more expensive Vamps and tips only should be cut. Quarter H8, as indicated by the diagonal lines, is cut across the lines of stretch and accordingly will probably cause difiiculty in the lasting operation or will show undesirable wrinkles when in use.

Thus it will be seen that I have devised a method of employing charts by which it is possible to apply pieces, cut from a skin, to one or another of the charts and by means of indicia thereon to determine whether a piece in question has been cut from a section of the skin which will provide leather of a quality suitable for that particular piece, and whether the piece has been cut in proper angular relation so that the stretch will be in the right direction, as well as whether the piece has been cut properly with relation to the backbone, to the edge of the skin, and to pockets or tail lines therein.

In addition to rating pieces cut from the skin or skins it is often desirable to make a permanent record of the manner in which the cuts were made in order to determine the eifectiveness of the cutting operation upon a single skin or a job which might include the cutting of a plurality of skins, or to determine the bad habits of an operator in his work so that he can be instructed in the best way to economize in material and to obtain the best possible quality of material for each cut made. Accordingly, I have provided means constituting a permanent record of the cuts made in the above instances. To this end,

after a skin or plurality of skins is cut, I apply a sheet of transparent paper to the rating charts and locate each cut piece upon the paper by means of the symbols upon the piece and upon the chart, marking the outline of the piece upon the paper, Ordinarily, there is no occasion for making the outlines of all of the cut pieces and I preferably mark only those which, upon application to the chart, appear to have been improperly out. That is, each piece cut on a particular job is compared with one or the other of the rating charts and if found to be improperly cut has its outline recorded upon the transparent paper in the same relative location as it occupied in the original skin. This is illustrated in Fig. 5'

in which the reference character I20 designates a sheet of transparent paper out to skin outline and having thereon a plurality of outlines I22 of imperfectly cut pieces as determined by comparison with the charts shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Various graded penalties may be applied to the different types of improperly cut pieces and a record of such penalties can be made which can be utilized to compare results obtained by different operators or by the same operators upon different jobs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of recording cutting operations performed upon skins which consists in applying identifying symbols at spaced intervals over the entire area of a face of a skin, providing .a chart having identifying symbols corresponding to those upon the skin and similarly spaced, cutting blanks from the skin, successively positioning the blanks upon a sheet of transparent paper laid upon the chart, utilizing the symbols to locate the blanks in the same relative positions that the material thereof occupied in the skin, and marking the outlines of the blanks upon the paper to form a permanent record of the manner in which the blanks were cut from the skin.

2. A method of recording cutting operations performed upon the skins which consists in applying identifying symbols at uniformly spaced intervals upon one face of each of a plurality of skins from which blanks are to be cut, providing a chart having identifying symbols corresponding to those upon the skins and similarly spaced, cutting the blanks from the skins, successively applying the cut blanks to the chart while utilizing the symbols to locate the blanks in the same relative positions that the material thereof occupied in the skins, discarding blanks which are out according to a predetermined standard, as-

sembling improperly cut blanks upon a sheet of transparent paper laid upon the chart, and marking the outlines of the blanks upon the paper in the same relative positions that the blanks originally occupied in the skin, thereby to form a permanent record of improperly cut blanks.

ALBERT L. MCMASTER. 

